Kwan Queenie Li

Kwan Queenie Li is a Hong Kong artist, researcher, and spatial theorist. Her interdisciplinary practice combines visual arts, architecture, and global studies to examine eco-techno theories, such as the intersection of spontaneous vegetation and the "porosity" of modern urban environments.

Li is best known for her research into "Weed Theory," which posits that ruderal plants act as biological registers for socio-political shifts in high-density cities. Her work on non-human agency in urban planning has been exhibited at the Hong Kong Pavilion in the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale^[1], and awarded the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts.^[2] In 2025, her monograph Weeds: A Germinating Theory was published by the London-based independent art publisher MACK.^[3]

Li received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Oxford (Ruskin School of Art). She subsequently pursued graduate studies under a fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a member of the Program in Art, Culture, and Technology (ACT).^[4]

Li's thesis at the University of Oxford, The Weed Manifesto, was awarded the Stuart Morgan Prize for Art History, the top thesis prize.^[5] During her tenure at MIT, she developed the theoretical framework for her later publications. Her research was supported by institutional honors, including the 2021 MIT Enterprise Poets Prize.^[6]

Li's methodology frequently utilizes long-form field photography, archival documentation, and essayist writing. She proposes a "weed's point of view" to analyze the evolution of contemporary urban spaces.

Central to her work is the study of ruderal ecology. Li examines how plants that thrive in disturbed environments—such as cracks, ruins, and construction sites—challenge the permanence of architectural structures. Her work argues that these organisms function as biological registers of a city's "real life," offering a perspective on urban "place" that emphasizes porosity and biological freedom over rigid urban planning.^[7] She has documented "unintended" vegetation in diverse global contexts, including Jerusalem, Shanghai, Varanasi, and Mexico City.^[3]

In 2025, Li's Weeds: A Germinating Theory (ISBN 978-1-917651-25-7) was published by MACK as part of the "Sightlines" series, the 160-page book serves as a synthesis of Li's interdisciplinary research.^[3] The work utilizes photography and critical essays to document spontaneous vegetation in the global built environment. It expands upon the concepts codified in her Oxford thesis, formally presenting the "weed" perspective on architectural theory.^[5]

Li's research and visual practice have received international recognition in the fields of ecological art and architecture.

• 2021: Her weed-based urban theories were presented at the Hong Kong Pavilion during the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale.^[1]
• 2022: She was awarded the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts for her portfolio foregrounding artistic research to bridge speculative theory, interdisciplinary experimentation, and technological critique.^[2]

• Weeds: A Germinating Theory official page at MACK.
• e-flux Architecture announcements: Sightlines, MACK.
• Book Review: Weeds by Kwan Queenie Li at Places Journal.
• Book Group: Weeds of the AA Book Group, February, 2026.
• Schnitzer Prize Portfolio: Exhibition of Li's artistic research at MIT.